The Cost of Eternity
by Montreat11
Summary: Rumple takes a hint from the original Beauty and the Beast tale and gives Belle a very special unique Valentines Day present with a very important cost. Not part of the Moments Series, just a Rumbelle one-shot.


**I recently read the original tale Beauty and the Beast. ****If you are not familiar with the original tale, when the beast releases Belle to visit her family for a couple of weeks he gives her a ring that if she turns over three times will magically bring her back to the castle. ****When I read the bit about the ring that the beast gave Belle my first thought was "Dang, as much as Rumbelle gets separated they certainly need something like that!" So of course I began wondering what that would look like and this is what popped out of my head, and since Valentines Day is kind of right around the corner I threw that in for good measure. I hope ya'll like it, I hope you'll review, and, as always, Peace and Happy Reading!**

**Oh, and for the record this is not part of the Moments series, such a fun one-shot.**

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She used to like their time at night the best. She still liked it, but she found that she liked it even better now that she had mornings to look forward too. Strange how one simple thing, like going into town with him every morning for work, could change that. It was true, she missed sleeping in, and the wonderful feeling of waking up and walking down stairs to get to work, but she'd gladly trade both in order to spend the night in their bed by his side again. And she was happy that they'd managed to figure out how to adjust their routines to accommodate each other so easily.

He began going to bed an hour later and she began waking up an hour earlier. It was a silent compromise so that neither fully assumed the others schedule, a deal that they both got the best of. It gave them time to fully enjoy each other at night and bask in their quiet company each morning. He always seemed to know the moment she woke up, whispered a "good morning my beautiful Belle," and kissed the top of her head while she squeezed him back and told him she loved him first thing. Everything they'd been through, all the times they'd been separated, she knew now that it was too precious a sentence to not remind him every chance she got.

They stayed awake in bed together, just enjoying the feel of being wrapped up in each other's arms. She hugged his middle. He stroked her back. Sometimes they spoke. Sometimes they didn't. But no matter what came of it, the quiet moments had certainly become her favorites.

"Will you have time for lunch this afternoon?" she asked quietly.

She felt him nod as he played with a bit of hair by her temple, "I always have time for you."

She couldn't help but smile at the comment. Mornings were best, nights second best, and if she could choose a third, it would be any time they got to take time out of their day for a peaceful lunch. The world went on around them, but their own private island moved for no one. "I'll stop by Granny's and pick something up for us."

"One night," he added an offhand kind of way, "I'll take you to La Tandoor for dinner." It was just a thought he'd had that had popped into his head and out of his mouth before he'd thought about it, but she liked it and couldn't help but beam at the thought. It was the "nice restaurant" in town. It was really one of the few other place besides Granny's to eat, and though she'd never gone, she had been curious about it. They had to walk past it every time that they walked to or from the diner and she was thrilled that he'd picked up on the eager glances she'd been throwing it over the past few weeks.

Candlelight. Good food. Quiet atmosphere…where he wouldn't talk for fear people would overhear them. Her heart fell. How many woman would kill to have a man that was half as observant as he was? She was lucky, but she what she would kill for was an honest conversation. She'd look forward to going to La Tandoor for a quiet dinner, but she'd much rather have a few days of uninterrupted peace with him. Well, maybe it wasn't just him. As much as she enjoyed be social when she was with Ruby and Ariel or out with Bae and Henry, his desire for privacy had rubbed off on her in the past few months. If she wanted to spend days talking to him, they couldn't go to a crowded place. They would need to be truly alone.

"You know what I'd like more," she muttered, propping herself up on her elbow.

He moved her hair behind her shoulder for her and smiled sleepily at her, like he couldn't decide if he was in a dream or not. "What, sweetheart?"

"A weekend," she requested, "up at the cabin, just you and me, we talked about it once-"

"I remember," he confirmed with a nod. It had been an eternity ago since they'd talked about it, before Lacey even, but maybe that was why it was high time that they got away for a while. "Can you afford to leave the library for a week?" She nodded, silently proud and happy that he had extended their stay to a week. Maybe he'd often thought of it, just as she had. "Not this week, but the following week," he suggested. "It gives me time to complete any business and make arrangements to leave."

"I'll close the library that week. It'll just be you and me, no distractions, no one to come bursting in, no one to over hear us-"

"No one to hear you scream," he interrupted with a sly smile. She should chastise him for that crude comment, if Bae had been anywhere near by she would have. But they were alone and crude as it might have been, she had to admit there was an element of truth to it. Frankly, the fact that no one was around to hear them was something that she liked about the isolated space. After they'd been separated for so long, the idea of spending at least one of their days as they were now was something she wanted just as much as the talking.

"I'm sure there will be time for plenty of that as well," she muttered with a happy smile as she settled back against him, still unwilling to give up their time.

"Although," he sighed heavily, "I suppose I'll have to call Bae, hope he'll be willing to talk with me again. Let him know we're leaving town so he doesn't worry. But I suppose at this point he'd worry more that he can't find you and not so much me."

"I'll talk to him first," she responded, knowing that even if Bae was angry with his father again she could almost always convince them to talk, to see reason, at the very least move from anger to tolerance. He needed some space after the latest incident, but enough time should have passed by now that he'd be ok talking again. "It'll be ok Rumple. He'll come around, he always does. And in the meantime, you know that he always talks to me."

"That's something," he sighed. His fingers trail over her shoulder and pull the slipping strap of her nightgown up again. "Don't you ever get tired of mediating between my son and I? Of facing my battles? Putting out my fires?"

"You're asking if I ever get tired of standing up for the man I love, or making sure that he and his son, who also happens to be someone I love dearly, are happy together? No, Rumple I don't get tired of it," she assured him. And she didn't really. After all the time he'd spent looking for him, after all the time that they'd spent together in search of Rumple, the one man that bound them together, so long as the three of them were together then she didn't mind putting their strange family back together time and time again. It made her feel like she had a purpose in their lives, it made her feel like she had a family. Yes, she'd happily mediate their feuds, so long as they were all together in the same world, in the same town, and they happily shared their lives in some way.

"I never get tired of the mediating," she repeated, "what I get tired of is being away from you…and from Baelfire."

"Belle," the arm that was on her back stopped moving, and she felt his muscles tense beneath her.

"What?" she questioned nervously. Tension like that, in her experience, was rarely ever good news.

"I've been thinking about that very thing…a lot actually," she could hear the timidness in his voice, the hesitation. It was the tone that worried her, if only because she knew that whenever he used that voice it was something that he really didn't know she would approve of. Usually something involving powerful magic or something life changing. Considering all that they'd been discussing, that was the last thing she wanted to hear about.

"About what? Exactly?"

"The second issue, the frequency of our separations. If you'd like, I think I could do something about it. I think I could make it so that no one would ever be able to keep us apart. Never."

Never be apart again? Her heart fluttered. That was something that she wanted him to use magic for! That was an excellent use of magic! Selfishly, of course, but when it came to him she found that she didn't mind being selfish, and when it came to their separations she was beginning to see that selfishness was a necessity to keeping them together. "You could?!" she asked hopefully, raising herself up on her elbow and looking down at him. "How? When?"

His expression changed suddenly, from one of concern and worry to one equally as hopeful as she had been. His face was almost excited! Though it also looked a bit confused as well, probably that she'd been so accepting of the suggestion. "You would be alright with that?"

She shook her head, astounded that she needed to confirm this to him again. What did he think? That she wanted them to be parted again? Wanted one or the other to live thinking that the other was dead? No! Of course not! "All I want, Rumple, is to be with you for the rest of my life. I never want to lose you again, or be apart from you."

He smiled. He beamed really! He rose up to meet her mouth and kissed her happily. "In that case," he moved out of her grasp and opened the drawer on his nightstand, "I have something to give you." That was the reason for the hesitation, she realized. It hadn't been because he was unsure she would want him to explore it, it was because he already had without her knowledge. It was something to be discussed, but at a later time, when he did it for a reason less favorable. Just as she'd learned the goodness that came with selfishness, she was beginning to learn the value of picking her battles as well.

From within drawer he pulled out a small red box tied with a white ribbon. She sat up and stared at it while he pulled the ribbon loose and opened the small box. There on the black cushion sat a pair of rings. They were gold, of course, with a delicate looking griffin perched on the top and an emerald mounted in the beasts mouth, making the creature strangely beautiful instead of grotesque. The rings matched perfectly, with the exception that they were different sizes. Clearly one was for her and the other meant to fit him.

"These rings," he explained pulling them from the box and setting it aside, "are enchanted. Should we ever be separated, whether by miles or worlds, all you have to do is turn it over three times, and you'll be at my side."

Her jaw dropped. That was a familiar concept to her, one that she'd read over and over again, so much that the books binding was nearly broken. "The beast!" she exclaimed, "In _La Belle et La Bete _he gave Belle something like this."

"That's where I got the idea," he confirmed, obviously happy she'd picked up on the reference.

She shook her head in disbelief. Never apart again. Never questioning whether or not they were alive again. Never having to search, or worry, or negotiate, or rescue, ever again. Truly, for the rest of their lives, together forever. It was unbelievable! And it only needed to be turned over three times? How simple! "They work even across realms! I thought that was-"

"Impossible," he finished for her. "Yes, it is. But, I've discovered a loop hole. These aren't meant to take the wearer across realms just to the place the other ring is located. It's the motivation, and in this case the purpose behind the rings isn't to cross lands, just to get back to one another. It'll work. Any time. Anywhere."

She looked the pair of them over. It was perfect. They were so plain and simplistic, even with the design. They looked so unassuming, easy to wear but also easy for someone to mistake for a simple piece of jewelry. Who would ever assume that a ring held so much magical power?! But, unfortunately he'd taught her well. Too well. If these rings could carry a wearer across worlds, she knew that wasn't simple magic. Extraordinary magic always had an extraordinary cost.

"What's the price?" she asked gently, running her fingers over the delicate metal in his hands, trying not to become too attached to them in case she didn't like the next words that came out of his mouth.

"The price of that enchantment isn't one you'll ever have to worry about."

"And that statement alone isn't supposed to make me worry?"

"No, but there is another price you should be aware of, one that does concern you."

She pulled her hand away from the bands as if she'd been burned and glanced up at him. His face wasn't tender or excited, not any more. It had shifted to one of complete seriousness. It was the look he had when he was doing business, which told her that whatever he was about to say wasn't a joke, or something to be taken lightly. "What is it?" she asked again, a tendril of fear clear in her voice this time.

"These rings contain powerful magic, but not magic that is specific to us, only the set."

"So the rings won't find you or me, they'll find each other-"

"Correct."

"-anyone could use them."

"Precisely," he beamed with pride, "they're powerful, I had to be sure that no one else could ever use them beside the pair of us. If they ever fell into the wrong hands the consequences could be…" his voice trailed off and his eyes grew distant. It was a tell tale sign, if anyone besides them ever had the pair of rings it could be nothing, but it could also be disastrous. And there was no doubt in her mind that if anyone ever really found out what they were capable of there would always be people willing to move heaven and earth to possess them. If they'd existed before he'd found Baelfire, he would have done the same thing.

"So you placed another enchantment on them? Something to make sure…what exactly?"

"To ensure they can never be stolen, never taken from either of us. It's far simpler a spell to cast."

"So," she placed her hand back over the metal again, into his own hand, allowing herself to think that it might actually be ok to let herself feel affection for them. A simple spell a simple price, but a price regardless. "The cost would be…"

"You'd have to wear it forever."

"Forever?"

"Forever. For the rest of our lives. Once they go on, they won't come off. You'll have to keep it as long as you live, as long as we live. As long as you'll have me." She glanced up at him and saw a look of waiting expectation. This wasn't just what it seemed. He was talking about something much deeper than the shallow cost. For that matter, he wasn't really explaining anything. he was asking. He wasn't using the words, but he didn't need to, she understood the weight of what those words offered…what those rings really meant. It was a big step, one of the biggest that a person could really take with another.

She was stunned that he would be the one to initiate it, but now that he had she was stunned to realize that she didn't just want this step, she was ready for it. They were ready for it! They'd been through a lot, they'd been separated, torn and ripped from one another violently, believed that the other was dead. If they could do all that and still be madly in love with each other at the end, then she had no doubt they could be together for the rest of their lives. She had no doubt that they deserved to be together. The rings would ensure it in one way, the words in another.

"I'll have you," she confirmed with a smile, swallowing back joyful tears. "I'll have you as long as the world spins and forever beyond that," she promised before reaching forward and kissing him. They didn't need to look, or to watch, they knew each other too well for that. Her fingers sought the hand that the rings were clutched in and eased it open as their lips moved. Together they fitted each other with the matching set before she let her fingers tangle in his hair and his hands roam over her back. She eased herself back against the mattress and pulled him down with her.

"We're going to be late," she informed him. It wasn't a warning, or a possibility, it was a statement. There was simply no possibility of going into work on time any more. In fact, if she had her way, there was no possibility of going to work at all today.

But suddenly he pulled away, caressed her cheek tenderly with his thumb as he smiled. "Happy Valentine's Day, sweetheart," he whispered.

Her eyes widened as her mind automatically began to calculate out the day. "Is it?!" she questioned. "It's really…I completely forgot…I…I don't have anything for you."

He gave a small snort, the closest he got in this world to uncontrollable laughter. "I think you'll find that you are everything I need and more."


End file.
